Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » septembre 25, 2014

BetaNews.Com (20 non lus)

Dear Rupert: Google responds to News Corp, shoots down criticism

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 11:29pm CEST par Mark Wilson

A week ago, in a letter to the European Commission, News Corps complained that Google is a 'platform for piracy' with 'cynical management'. Today, having gathered together its ammunition, Google responds with a letter of its own. Although News Corp's letter was signed by CEO Robert Thomson, Google's reply starts with the salutation "Dear Rupert" -- addressing CEO Rupert Murdoch -- and the search giant picks apart the complaints levelled at it. One of New Corp's key complaints centered around the idea that Google is riddled with pirated material, and "unlawful and unsavory content", and this is one of the first ideas that Google shoots down.

Countering accusations of being a platform for piracy, SVP Global Communications, Rachel Whetstone, points to the 222 million copyright infringing websites that were delisted last year. The existence of copyright protecting ContentID technology to help detect infringing footage on YouTube is also cited, as is efficiency in weeding out inappropriate contents such as sexual images of children.

News Corp had also complained that Google used its dominant market position to stifle competition, but Google has a response to this as well. "We are not the gatekeeper to the web, as some claim," says Whetstone, going on to point out that Google has lots of competition itself. While Google is somewhat of a Swiss army knife for the web, there are plenty of specialist services and Google's letter rightly points out that many web users jump directly to websites without using the search engine as a middleman.

The letter also addresses some of News Corp's more bizarre accusations, including the notion that Google's certification process for Android apps gives the company "the freedom to develop competing products". Google says that certifying apps is a necessary process to help ensure security and compatibility, and points out that there are competing app stores available for the platform that users are free to turn to. After refuting suggestions that preference is given to YouTube videos in search results, Google takes a swipe at News Corp's complaint that it is leading to a "less informed, more vexatious level of dialogue in our society" -- which is a pretty rich coming from a dangerously rightwing media beast responsible for Fox News.

So now blows have been traded in both directions; the ball is now in News Corp's court. It'll be interesting to see whether there is another letter from the Murdoch empire in a week's time and if this descends into a tit for tat exchange that drags on indefinitely.

Photo credit: wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock
Taiwan could ban Xiaomi smartphones over data security concerns

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 9:31pm CEST par Tom Phelan

Xiaomi has found itself under scrutiny due to concerns that it may be a security threat, with the Taiwanese government expected to make a decision on the smartphone company within three months. It is unclear whether this could lead to a ban on Xiaomi's low-priced smartphones in Taiwan.

A statement on the website of Taiwan's executive branch on Tuesday referred to the fact that some of the company's smartphones automatically send user data back to the Xiaomi servers in Beijing, resulting in a risk of security breaches.

Both Chinese businesses and government are regularly accused of cyber and industrial espionage, and the move by Taiwan is another case of this.

Taiwan -- a breakaway province -- is a subject of debate amongst commentators concerned with its over reliance on the mainland. Critics of Beijing claim that China's expanding economic ties give the growing power influence over its smaller neighbor’s staunchly democratic politics.

Japanese instant messaging service Line, owned by South Korea's Naver Corp, will also be banned on government work-related computers due to security fears, the report said.

While a Line spokeswoman based in Tokyo told Reuters that the company is investigating the issue, Xiaomi declined to comment.

It's not the first time Xiaomi has been implicated in concerns over data access. Accusations that surfaced recently drove the firm to upgrade its OS and to give users an opt-out option of data collection from address books.

Although its consumer base mainly resides in China, the low-cost smartphone maker now has a presence in India, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, with further expansion earmarked for Thailand, Mexico and Brazil.

Taiwan is seen by Beijing as a renegade province, though trade ties have increased dramatically between the two regions in recent years.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Surface Pro 3 cleared for takeoff -- FAA and EASA give Microsoft the thumbs-up

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 6:55pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

Flying is terrifying for me, which is arguably illogical. Plane crashes are fairly rare, but turbulence still causes me to wet my pants (no, not literally). What tends to calm me is knowing that a professional pilot is in charge of the plane, and is using the best technology.

Unfortunately my choice for the best tablet, the Surface Pro 3, was not previously permitted for use as an electronic flight bag for pilots during the entire flight (an EFB is a device used for performing flight management tasks). This changes today however, as both the FAA and EASA give Microsoft a big thumbs-up, and authorizes it for uninterrupted in-flight use.

"Today, we're announcing that Surface Pro 3 has qualified for authorization for use as an EFB during all phases of flight, as defined by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Through this assessment process, Surface Pro 3 completed rigorous environmental and situational tests, satisfying a lengthy and important part of the FAA authorization process. Now, when airlines look to select the feature-rich Surface Pro 3 for their EFB initiatives, deployment timelines will be significantly decreased, and the device itself may be used to its full computing potential, versus serving just as a simple document reader", says Cyril Belikoff, Senior Director, Microsoft Surface.

Belikoff further explains, "we are also announcing today that navAero is now part of the Designed for Surface (DFS) accessory partner program and will build a mount that enables Surface Pro 3 to connect to onboard power and data systems in the cockpit. Not just a paper replacement device, this new solution lets airlines enable a true connected cockpit experience and so much more".

Pilots have people's lives in their hands, and passengers deserve to have a pilot empowered with the best technology. By gaining unceasing access to the Surface Pro 3, they can be more productive. More importantly, the larger screen should allow pilots to consume content in a more enjoyable way, with less eye strain.

Do you feel more comfortable knowing that your pilot is using the Surface Pro 3? Tell me in the comments.
Building your own financial services with 'Financial Lego' APIs

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 5:45pm CEST par John Hammond

The success of the The Lego Movie released earlier this year is testament to the cross-generational appeal of Lego -- its popularity has remained steadfast over the last few generations -- and it will certainly remain relevant in the next generations to come. Without a doubt, Lego is one of the most popular toys of all time. Lego engages people of all ages because it offers unlimited building possibilities. As the Lego pieces interlock in infinite ways, you have the ability to create whatever you like.

So how does this relate to the world of enterprise? Over the last few years the financial world has witnessed the rise of "Financial Lego" API solutions for the enterprise, built by specialized FinTech firms. In other words, there are now many FinTech firms which focus on particular segments of the financial value chain such as international transfers or payroll processing. These technology firms optimize these processes so that they are more efficient, more convenient and less expensive than banks or other traditional institutions -- and are offered up as bespoke services to businesses through APIs.

With Financial Lego APIs, IT leaders within businesses can create their own financial IT solution or support other processes within their organization without having to build every piece of the technology from scratch. Instead, they can mix and match a portfolio of financial technology APIs to create a bespoke solution. Here the development team can integrate the functionality of the APIs as part of their technology. APIs also enables internal innovation -- by using an API, developers can build additional applications around its data.

Here are a few examples of Financial Lego APIs that are currently available:

For accepting online payments, there are the Stripe or Braintree Lego APIs

For taking mobile payments, there are the Zapp or MoPowered Lego APIs

For building a banking platform, there are the Open Bank Project, Standard Treasury or Bancbox APIs

For managing the world of virtual currencies, there is the Ripple Lego API

Businesses looking to expand internationally will benefit immensely from these solutions. Working across different regions means understanding the different regulations for compliance and developing new banking relationships. While this is critical for the success of these processes, it proves to be especially difficult for IT leaders who do not come from a strictly financial services background. And from a security standpoint, Financial Lego APIs have benefits in that area as well as the data will remain in corporate servers and won’t be copied to any device -- it’s provided to the app only as needed.

Developers within IT departments can simply join together the most relevant technologies to support their financial goals. Working like this means IT departments don’t have to worry about many of the complications associated with getting solutions up and running -- because someone’s already done the heavy lifting and can lend the missing pieces.

FinTech firms developing Financial Lego API solutions offer simplicity in terms of removing redundant processes in the value chain and by being easy to plug into. They offer speed both in transaction time and 'go live' time. They offer transparency in pricing and business models. Finally, trust is paramount to these firms. They all invest heavily in compliance and security so that businesses can ensure that their processes are reliable.

Ultimately, Financial LegoAPIscan offer significant benefits for enterprise users looking to expand or improve their financial processes. Firms can launch or manage their financial services in new markets, bring products to market faster and ensure internal innovation all with Financial Lego APIs.

Image Credit: Michel Rouleau designer/Shutterstock

With a career in enterprise IT that is longer than he cares to admit, John Hammond has witnessed the shift from on premise solutions to virtualization, cloud and software-as-a-service. He believes that the rise of self-service, online, instantaneous IT is fundamentally changing how the world conducts business, and that this is the most exciting time in the IT industry so far. His reasons for working at Currency Cloud are both noble ("we’re helping to facilitate international trade!") and unashamedly commercial ("we’re capable not just of growth but hyper-growth!").
Shellshock Bash bug could be bigger than Heartbleed

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 5:03pm CEST par Ian Barker

Although it seems that the Heartbleed bug wasn't exploited before its existence was disclosed, that doesn’t mean the security world can rest on its laurels.

The latest problem to be revealed is a bug in the commonly used Bash command interpreter that poses a critical risk to Linux and Unix systems. And since these form the backbone of the internet and are in many other systems as well it's a threat to the rest of us too.

The bug called Shellshock, discovered by Linux specialist Stephane Chazelas, is present in versions of Bash up to and including 4.3 and has potentially been there for many years. It poses a particular risk to Apache web servers. CGI scripts that use or invoke Bash are vulnerable to remote-code injection. This includes any child processes spawned by a script. OpenSSH and some DHCP clients are also affected on machines that use Bash.

Systems based on Debian -- including Ubuntu -- shouldn't be at risk since they use Dash. However, it's possible versions of Bash may be present so it's important that admins check which interpreters are installed and patch them if needed.

According to Darien Kindlund of security company FireEye, "It's worse than Heartbleed, in that it affects servers that help manage huge volumes of Internet traffic. Conservatively, the impact is anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of global servers supporting web pages".

A further problem is that Apple systems use Bash as the basis of their command line Terminal program. In addition Robert Graham of Errata Security warns that, "Internet-of-things devices like video cameras are especially vulnerable because a lot of their software is built from web-enabled bash scripts. Thus, not only are they less likely to be patched, they are more likely to expose the vulnerability to the outside world".

Graham also notes, "Unlike Heartbleed, which only affected a specific version of OpenSSL, this Bash bug has been around for a long, long time. That means there are lots of old devices on the network vulnerable to this bug. The number of systems needing to be patched, but which won't be, is much larger than Heartbleed".

Linux distros have responded quickly and patches are already available for most major flavors. Apple had yet to respond at the time of writing but advice on testing for and responding to Shellshock is available at StackExchange.

Security company Secunia has released an advisory saying that the patch issued by GNU -- the open source project behind Bash -- is ineffective but GNU is expected to "release another patch today due to the criticality of this vulnerability".

Security researchers Bromium Labs suggests that, "... this likely won't be the last vulnerability found in Bash. Application developers should try to avoid invoking shells unless absolutely necessary, or use minimalist shells where required".

Image Credit: Zhukov / Shutterstock
8 reasons why Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus 'bendgate' is a good thing

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 4:45pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

The newest Apple "gate" is upon us. Many users complain that their new iPhones bend in the pants. Flexible display is a compelling technology, when designed that way. Surely, Apple doesn't want customers, ah, adapting iPhone 6 and 6 Plus designs in their pockets. Someone call the lawyers! But wait, who sues whom? Apple for buyers violating its design patents, or users complaining the handsets are flawed? Oh, these legal quagmires are treacherous!

Personally, I'd like to do a gallery showing of bent iPhones as art. Maybe I can open a museum of pop culture here in San Diego. My point: There are some unseen benefits to Apple's apparent iPhone fiasco. Here, I present eight -- and surely there are many more. Please decorate our comment gallery with your additions.

1. iPhone 6 and, particularly, 6 Plus supply shortages should subside or even end. Who wants to purchase a mobile that bends in the pocket, eh? Surely, lots of people thinking about the new Apple handsets are reconsidering and even canceling orders -- and thanking the deity of preference for sticking them in the waiting queue.

2. Samsung advanced the Galaxy Note 4 launch date. It's Christmas in Korea, today! Sammy benefits from all the marketing promoting iPhone 6 Plus and why larger-screen handsets are better and all the negative press showing Apple's mobile to be not the one.

3. Android fanboys get a good laugh -- the last one! I think they should adopt a universal wave. When, say, in Starbucks, someone pulls out iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, yank out that big Android, wave it in the air, and laugh. Snickering and head shaking are optional.

4. All the bloggers and journalists who aren't Apple favorites can vent their resentment. We all know that the company keeps a shortlist of writers who get advance access to everything. For those that don't, here's their chance to stick it to Apple.

5. Apple's blogger and journalist favorites can show they aren't shills. The time for them to write that one negative story is when there is some kind of "gate" -- Antennagate, Mapgate, and now bendgate/bentgate. These opportunities are so rare these writers shouldn't delay.

6. The so-called iSheep have a chance to try something new. Their friends have told them for years that Android is better and recently that iPhone 6 is like a 2012 Google Nexus phone. At last, just maybe -- like an intervention for the family alcoholic -- they will give up their Apple addiction and try something else.

7. Plastic is drastic. For years, iSheep have snickered about how much cooler are their metal iPhones compared to plasticky Androids. But in a series of bend tests -- and Lewis Hilsenteger's is the benchmark -- plastic phones prove to be sturdier and highly resistant to pocket bends. Ain't that a shame.

8. Apple lawyers will stay on the job longer. With the Apple-Samsung patent and ebook price-fixing cases winding down, the fruit-logo company doesn't need as many legal consultants. But, hey, another "gate" and the class-action lawsuits that follow is great job security for Apple lawyers.

Screen Grab Credit: Unbox Therapy
Cyotek Gif Animator adds sprite sheet creator, WebP support

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 4:03pm CEST par Mike Williams

Cyotek has announced the release of Gif Animator 0.0.3.0, an updated beta of its ultra-configurable GIF creator.

The program can now export any or all of your animation frames as a sprite sheet, with your choice of columns, rows, margins, spacing and more (there’s WebP format support, too).

New Watermark and Text effects allow images or styled text to be overlaid on a frame.

You’re now able to open multiple animations at the same time via an extended tabbed interface.

The new release also sees a number of bug fixes, in particular addressing various interface annoyances. (Although you need to keep in mind that’s it’s still a beta, especially if you’re doing serious work: we managed to crash it in less than a minute.)

The various additions and improvements are all welome, but the real highlight remain the program’s more advanced features.

Our personal favourites include palette optimisation, GIF comment support, 30+ extensions (including PSD, RAW and MNG import), a method of integrating external tools, even a built-in tool for coding your own custom effects and saving them in DLL form.

Cyotek Gif Animator 0.0.3.0 isn’t for beginners, then, and it has plenty of deficiencies and issues. Still, if you’re an experienced user who needs more animation flexibility it may appeal. Take a look.
Adaptiva offers 5 Tips for a successful XP migration

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 3:54pm CEST par Ian Barker

Windows XP is still in use in a surprisingly high number of businesses. A recent survey suggests that more than half of organizations are still running it somewhere.

The survey was conducted by systems management specialist Adaptiva among more than 100 TechEd North America attendees showed that 53 percent still had some XP systems.

Based on the company's experience in helping large enterprises migrate from XP using Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), Adaptiva has come up with five tips to ensure successful migration.

"It is very difficult for a large organization to move off of Windows XP completely, especially one with many operating locations around the globe," says Deepak Kumar, Founder and CTO of Adaptiva. "IT departments can begin taking steps now to ensure a smoother migration, whether moving from Windows XP or from Windows 7 to 8. Our 5 Tips come from successful enterprise migrations where they have reduced costs, slashed migration times, and improved success rates".

The tips for ensuring smooth migration are:

1 Optimize task sequences in order to plan for debugging and troubleshooting. Make use of logical phases -- called groups in task sequences -- so others can more easily monitor for success/failure, perform troubleshooting, and remediate. Plan ahead for debugging by saving log files to a network share, otherwise there will be no way to perform root cause analysis in the event of failure during the pre-OS phase.

2 Ensure the health of SCCM clients. The success of each migration depends on a healthy Windows system with a properly functioning SCCM client. Administrators need to be sure all the clients are problem-free in advance of migration to avoid delays.

3 Make friends with the network team and make them a part of the planning process. A good working relationship with the networking team will reduce political obstacles and accelerate troubleshooting.

4 Use hardlinking when possible to reduce reliance on network transfers during migration. Backing up a system’s user settings and data (state) on the system being migrated reduces the chance of the network becoming a bottleneck. This is much simpler with unencrypted hard drives, but can work on encrypted drives in some situations.

5 Set accurate user expectations. SCCM asset intelligence can ensure that users don’t lose capabilities. If the migration would cause a user to lose a personal or otherwise non-business-critical application, then it’s important to communicate that even though the change has no impact to the business. It is common to leave off some data, such as a user's "My Pictures" directory and it's important to let the user know early what won't be transferred.

To find out how add-ons like Adaptiva OneSite can further help to cut migration times and for more information on XP migration generally you can visit the company's website.

Photo credit: JNT Visual/Shutterstock
Treasury Management Systems are invaluable in the fight against fraud

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 3:24pm CEST par Andrew Burns

Fraud is a constant danger for companies around the world, with its ability to damage the bottom line, and reputation, of even the most profitable of firms. Far from being an isolated risk, a recent report from J.P. Morgan showed that almost two thirds (61 percent) of companies had experienced attempted or actual payment fraud in 2012. These incidents of fraud can be both internal, with employees leveraging access and understanding of internal processes to steal from the company; and external, with outside individuals or groups trying to obtain sensitive financial or customer data.

As such, companies need to protect themselves by instigating strict internal procedures for financial transactions, as well as locking down access to data from outside sources.

Providing oversight

In the fight against crime, Treasury Management Systems (TMS) can prove invaluable in reinforcing a company’s anti-fraud procedures. For example, once implemented, a TMS can provide an enterprise-wide view of all transactions and bank accounts, while monitoring payments and balances. This is no simple task, when you consider the huge volume of transactions that could be involved; potentially hundreds of thousands per month. By reconciling all actual transactions against forecasts, any anomalies, unusual money movements, or suspicious patterns can be flagged for resolution by the treasury team.

Centralization of monitoring and maintenance of bank accounts via TMS technologies can also enable treasury teams to oversee accounts in multiple countries across a variety of banks, and can help them to comply with local and international regulations. Management of bank account signatories is a good example of how the daunting administrative task of managing access to hundreds or thousands of accounts across the world can be streamlined, with the TMS holding a centralized repository of signatories, mapped to corresponding bank accounts. By ensuring employee-account relationships are severed once an employee leaves the company, the potential for fraud to take place is significantly reduced.

Securing payments

Payments are another crucial area of focus when companies are seeking to reduce fraud, as the implementation of electronic initiation and approval of all payments can drastically reduce opportunities for fraudulent activities. By eliminating paper or email requests for payments, phishing attempts and potentially fraudulent payment requests can be neutered. It then becomes increasingly difficult for outside parties to use publicly available information (such as the names of company representatives and email addresses) to target unstructured payment systems. Managing all payment approvals and initiations via one centralized TMS ensures that all tracking is done through one single system, simplifying and cutting down on work processes. In addition, the introduction of digital signatures, which are held within a TMS and applied to all payments, can help with the speedy and accurate validation of payments.

Restricting access

While it may appear to be an obvious step, locking down access points to ensure only the right people have access to sensitive data is a key stage in reinforcing a company’s defenses against fraud. By implementing stringent access policies such as a requirement for stronger passwords and authentication tools, companies can take an important step towards protecting their data. Recent surveys have shown that 90 percent of passwords are so basic that they can be cracked by hackers, highlighting the pressing need for companies to ensure their employees are choosing sophisticated passwords, and changing them regularly.

Companies should also consider hosting their TMS offsite, to boost security. This is because many companies do not apply strict access policies for their server rooms. In addition, they may not have different access controls in place for their TMS, as opposed to the rest of their servers, despite the heightened sensitivity of the data contained within. By removing physical access to the TMS, and moving it to an externally hosted and protected cloud, treasury teams can reinforce their company’s security, eliminating fraud and maintaining data integrity. Treasury teams should also demand that their SaaS TMS providers meet the most stringent of security protocols -- namely SOC 1 and 2.

Technology to the fore

The implementation of an efficient treasury technology such as a TMS can prove invaluable in helping treasury teams to control access to critical data, extending oversight into all of a company’s transactions and bank accounts and simplifying payments processes. In addition, with the right systems, treasury teams can update procedures quickly and easily, roll out upgrades across the enterprise simultaneously, and keep their organizations one step ahead of those with criminal intentions.

Image Credit: Gustavo Frazao/Shutterstock

Andrew Burns oversees both direct and indirect sales for the company’s Northern Europe operations at Kyriba, a global leader in cloud-based treasury management solution. Andrew has more than 17 years’ experience working in the treasury industry for both Corporate Treasury and Treasury solution providers. Before joining Kyriba, Andrew held various positing in implementing and supporting clients at leading enterprises, including IT2, Wall Street Systems and Trema. Andrew’s blend of corporate treasury and software experience provides a unique insight when advising prospective technology buyers. Andrew started his treasury career for Motorola, building up the treasury operation by centralising cash and risk hedging within EMEA, winning the Global Project Award.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 and Premiere Elements 13 arrive, focus on more automatic features

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 2:20pm CEST par Nick Peers

Adobe has released Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 and Adobe Premiere Elements 13, brand new versions of its consumer-level photo-editing and video-editing suites.

Version 13 remain standalone tools -- allowing users to purchase them outright -- and come with a number of new and improved features to build on previous updates.

Photoshop Elements 13 introduces a number of new features. It opens with what Adobe describes as offering "a cool twist on your Facebook page" by making it easy to create two images that blend into each other when used as profile picture and cover photo.

Another new tool is Photomerge Compose, which allows users to create "mashups" of different photos by pulling elements from one and dropping them into another. Photoshop Elements then attempts to blend both color and lighting to create a realistic-looking scene.

Users also gain the ability to nudge selection boundaries to fine-tune object selections, while the program also now offers a choice of suggested compositions when cropping images, as well as displaying five different ways of applying an effect to give users a head-start on choosing their personal favorite.

Photoshop Elements 13’s slideshow feature also gains support for displaying multiple photos on each slide.

The program’s Guided Edit options have also been extended, with new features designed to create hybrid color and black-and-white photos, including one that allows the user to leave a single color in place.

Meanwhile, Adobe Premiere Elements 13 adds more video automation tools to its roster. Chief among these is Video Story, a tool that automatically generates movies -- including trims, transitions and music -- from user-selected clips. All the user needs to do is choose a story type and organize the clips into chapters.

Another automated addition allows users to pick favorite moments from a video clip and then Elements will automatically turn them into a movie.

New Guided Edit tools have also been added to Premiere Elements 13, making it easy to add motion effects inside movie titles as well as other effects and blurs designed to draw attention to a specific part of a scene.

The new build also promises improvements to its Shake Stabilizer tool, which is designed to help correct the effects of motion shake.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 and Adobe Premiere Elements 13 are both available now as free trial downloads for Windows and Mac -- an Adobe account is required to road-test either product. Both products have a MSRP of $99.99, with upgrade pricing at $79.99 each. Users can also purchase both products in a discounted bundle for $149.99, or $119.99 as an upgrade. See adobe.com for more details.
Apple to iPhone 6 users: Downgrade from iOS 8.0.1 because of nasty bugs

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 2:14pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic
Apple is now advising its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus-toting customers to downgrade from iOS 8.0.1, which was only introduced yesterday, because the latest version of its mobile operating system contains some pretty nasty bugs that ruin the user experience.

Apple publicly admits that installing iOS 8.0.1 on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus may lead to a loss of cellular service and the inability to make use of Touch ID, neither of which plagues iOS 8. The older iteration, which was rolled out on September 17, is not without bugs, however Apple would rather you run into them again over not being able to make calls and use the fingerprint scanner.

"We have a workaround for you if you have an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus and you lost cellular service and Touch ID functionality today after updating to iOS 8.0.1", says Apple on one of its support pages. "You can reinstall iOS 8 through iTunes by following the instructions below".

Apple has also yanked iOS 8.0.1 from its servers, preventing more users from running into the same problems. Considering that it's not out of the question for some people's lives to be at risk from being unable to make and receive calls, that sounds like a logical step.

In case you are wondering what the said instructions are, here is the step-by-step guide Apple provides on how you can downgrade to iOS 8:
1. Make sure that you're using the latest version of iTunes.
2. Connect your iPhone to iTunes.
3. Back up your iPhone in iTunes on your Mac or PC. iCloud backups won't restore to earlier versions, including iOS 8.0.
4. Download the file below that corresponds to your device:
  - iPhone 6
  - iPhone 6 Plus
5. Select the file you just downloaded by doing one of these in iTunes:
  - Mac: Press the Option key and click Check for Update.
  - Windows: Press the Shift key and click Check for Update.
6. Press Update to install iOS 8 on your iPhone.
Even so, this is still not a terribly great workaround, as Apple says that the Health app will not function after downgrading to iOS 8. The fix is installing iOS 8.0.2, which is set to be released in the next couple of days.

What's more, Apple is apparently also publicly apologizing for iOS 8.0.1, issuing a statement to the Verge in which the company says: "We apologize for the great inconvenience experienced by users, and are working around the clock to prepare iOS 8.0.2 with a fix for the issue, and will release it as soon as it is ready in the next few days".

I cannot remember the last time that Apple had to do these things. Maybe some extra testing is in order? I find it hard to believe that this problem couldn't have been spotted by thorough beta testing.

Image Credit: Michaelstockfoto / Shutterstock
Five things to hate about the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 1:46pm CEST par Ed Oswald

Second in a series. Yesterday we gave a rundown of five things to love about Apple’s new iPhone lineup. We pointed to the design, the screen, a better camera, choice in size, and NFC as some of the highlights.

I’m willing to wager this post is the one you all are waiting for given the patterns of BetaNews commenters, though. No doubt even some of the Apple faithful will admit the device is far from perfect. So, what bothers us about the new iPhones?

1. Fragility. Call it "Bendghazi". Or "Bendgate". Apple has a problem on its hands when it comes to the iPhone 6 series and its choice of manufacturing materials. It chose aluminum for the body, an easily malleable metal, and a thin piece of aluminum at that. Making matters worse, the glass used also appears to have a good deal of flexibility to it too. What does this equal? A perhaps too flexible phone.

Over the past few days reports have begun to flood in indicating how just a bit of pressure can cause the phone to deform. Hipsters and the general tight-jeans-wearing public are the most at risk for this issue to show up. Don’t try to bend it back either: those who have tried ended up with a cracked screen. Not a positive mark for Apple’s Quality Assurance team.

2. The iPhone 6 Plus. How can a whole phone be something to hate? Size matters. The iPhone 6 Plus is a monstrosity and an accident waiting to happen, as there’s almost no way to use it one-handed. iOS 8’s "Reachability" feature -- which brings the top of the screen halfway down the display to reach those top buttons -- is really only useful on the 6. You still need two hands for a 6 Plus regardless of what Apple says.

I can only imagine how many people are going to drop this thing while trying to manipulate their hands to hold it one handed. Honestly folks, if you really need a device that big you should be thinking about an iPad mini. It’s going to be a much better user experience overall, and with iOS 8 Continuity you can make phone calls from it if you really, really need to.

3. Scaling. This issue was something that can and should have been avoided. Apple doesn’t like tipping its hands on new products, and this is where it’s coming back to bite the company in the rear end. Scaling is a great feature because it makes any app automatically usable on the iPhone 6 series’ bigger screens. But as anybody knows, scaling up comes at a cost: clarity.

Scaled up apps look huge on the device and with the trend towards minimalist design that started with iOS 7’s release, more amateurish. It’s also a little weird to watch the top status bar from the home screen double in size when you load up a non-optimized app. And for whatever reason, Apple isn’t doing much to fix things.

Major apps like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Google’s Chrome and Gmail apps all still haven’t updated their UI’s as of Wednesday. At least three of those have been updated since iOS 8 and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were launched. Why is Apple still approving apps that haven’t flipped the switch yet? It doesn't make sense.

4. A not-so-quiet silent mode. Upgraders will notice one huge difference between previous models and the iPhone 6: the vibration. While I do have to say I am no longer missing calls because I just didn’t feel the phone vibrate, the vibration is, well, loud.

I am not quite sure whether this is a result of the variances in composition of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, or if the vibrator is in a different place and is also vibrating something beside it, but you really hear it. I’m sure for people looking to attack the iPhone, this is going to be something else to complain about.

5. The NFC walled garden. While I cheered the addition of NFC previously, I did not mention there’s a major downside. Apple is limiting use of the technology to just its Apple Pay service -- at least initially.

CNET got confirmation from an Apple spokesperson that developers will be locked out of using NFC for at least one year, and the fruit logo company declined to say if there were any plans to ever let developers use NFC in their apps.

For a company that has certainly made some strides to open things up this is a step backward. While I understand limiting NFC for payments to Apple only (hey, it’s the company's device), why prevent developers from using the chip for other innovative uses? It doesn’t make sense. There’s all kinds of cool uses out there -- pairing devices via Bluetooth with a tap, or sending information by tapping a device to another -- but iPhone users won’t be seeing those any time soon.

Photo Credit: Art Konovalov/Shutterstock
eBay heavily criticized for leaving user data exposed

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 12:42pm CEST par Sam Pudwell

eBay is being put under intense pressure by leading security researchers to take action over the dangerous listings that are tricking customers into giving away their personal data.

The vulnerability relates to user's ability to insert custom JavaScript and Flash content into their listing pages, which significantly raises the likelihood of malicious code being included through a technique known as cross-site scripting (XSS).

The compromised pages appear as legitimate listings, but when clicked upon the user is automatically re-directed to a malicious website designed to steal personal information such as credit card details.

James Lyne, from security firm Sophos, said, "The summary is that it is exceptionally dodgy and redirecting the user to a nasty web page with some really suspect scripts.

"At present we can't get our hands on the end payload, so can't be sure of the attackers' complete motive, but it is clear there are still nasty malicious redirects on the eBay site".

It is unclear exactly how long this has been an issue on the site, with some experts saying that the problem has been present for over a year.

"Many of our sellers use active content like JavaScript and Flash to make their eBay listings perform better," eBay said in a statement.

"We have no current plans to remove active content from eBay. However, we will continue to review all site features and content in the context of the benefit they bring our customers as well as overall site security".

This stance has been heavily criticized by several industry professionals, including Mikko Hypponen from security firm F-Secure, "It's not OK for eBay to have cross-site scripting vulnerabilities on its website.

"If they can't make it work without the risk of exposing users to cross-site scripting, they shouldn't allow it".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Ordnance Survey maps the UK in Minecraft

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 9:07am CEST par Barclay Ballard

A map of the UK made entirely of Minecraft blocks has had an upgrade to include local roads, railways even people's houses.

Ordnance Survey, the creators of the map, has recreated 224,000 sq. km of Britain using 83 billion blocks, an increase on the 22 billion used for the original map. It means that each block now represents 25m of real-world Britain.

The organization said that an interactive version of the map would be available from its website to enable users to locate their own homes.

Since its release in 2011, Minecraft has become a hugely popular video game, where users create worlds built of blocks that can be mined for raw materials.

The original Minecraft UK map was created by intern Joseph Braybrook over two weeks in September 2013. Mr Braybrook has now updated the map after joining the Ordnance Survey through a graduate recruitment scheme.

Mr Braybrook said that increasing the scale of the map had made it more detailed and given it a "more expansive appearance that is closer to real life".

Ordnance Survey announced that the one-gigabyte map would be made available for download free-of-charge for users to play on. The original version has already been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

The increased resolution of the new map should allow Minecraft players to do much more than was possible with the first map.

"I've attempted to re-create Great Britain to be more realistic, while maintaining the gameplay elements people love from the game," Mr Braybrook told the BBC.

It is thought that the map is the biggest Minecraft map in existence that uses real-world geographical data.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

CyberLink PowerDirector 13 Ultimate: The best consumer video editor around [Review]

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 9:05am CEST par Mike Williams

powerdirector1

CyberLink PowerDirector has long been one of the most powerful consumer video editors around, packed with functionality, yet still remaining very usable for just about every level of user.

PowerDirector 13 doesn’t bring any radical changes, and the core of the package remains much as before. Import your source files -- images, audio or video, even PowerPoint presentations -- and arrange them on the 100 track timeline. Apply effects and transitions by dragging and dropping, then preview and tweak each one as required.

There are a huge number of advanced tweaks and options. Click "Fix/ Enhance", say, and you’ll find tools to adjust video lighting, brightness, contrast, exposure, colors, white balance and more, as well as video and audio denoise options and an improved video stabilizer.

None of these options are difficult to use, though, and once you’ve finished your work can be exported as a video, burned to your own custom video DVD or Blu-ray disc, or uploaded directly to Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and now Youku and Niconico Douga.

With such a strong base program, it’s no surprise that PowerDirector 13 is a relatively gentle upgrade, more about expanding existing abilities than bringing any revolutionary change.

Still, there are some new abilities here: custom Title and Transition designers, auto syncing of up to 100 multicam clips, a new PowerDirector Mobile app for Android/ Windows 8, CyberLink Cloud integration and full H.265 support, amongst others. We grabbed a copy of the high end PowerDirector 13 Ultimate edition to take a closer look.

100 track Multicam sync

Video editing used to be just about working with your own footage -- but not anymore. These days almost everyone has a camera on them, almost all of the time, and you might easily find yourself trying to blend multiple clips -- all taken at different times, from different angles -- into a single video.

This has always been sort-of possible, with a lot of work, and PowerDirector 12 improved the situation with its MultiCam Designer. But the new release goes a big step further with extremely easy support for synchronizing up to 100 clips by audio, directly on the timeline.

The process is very straightforward, and essentially works precisely as you’d expect. Drag and drop your target clips onto the timeline, select two or more, and a "Sync by Audio" button appears; click this, the audio of each track is analyzed, the earliest is placed first in the timeline, and everything else is positioned appropriately. (A CyberLink video tutorial shows this in action.)

In real life use, if you’re working with a lot of very lengthy clips, then unsurprisingly this can take a while. But if you know approximately where the clips will sync then you can trim them down to around that point (just resize them with the mouse), speeding up the process hugely. Either way, we found the syncing to be extremely accurate, and it’s certainly much faster than having to sync the clips manually.

Transition and Title designers

Adding transitions or titles to your PowerDirector project used to be as simple as choosing your preferred style from the program library. And that worked just fine, as long as you were happy with the canned effects on offer.

If you’ve always wanted more choice, though, you might appreciate PowerDirector 13, where new Transition and Title Designers help you to produce your own custom effects.

The Transition Designer is interesting, particularly for its ability to create transitions from any image. Just import and optionally crop your picture, and PowerDirector treats it as a mask, dissolving from the darkest parts to the lightest for the length of the transition.

You can play around with other parameters, too, flipping the image, adding a colored border, tweaking transparency, sharpness, even playing with transition speed (you might have it start slowly and speed up, for instance).

Whatever you produce can be saved to your transition library for easy access later, or sharing via DirectorZone.

Is this useful? Transitions normally shouldn’t draw attention to themselves, so perhaps not. But if there’s a particular shape that fits the theme of the video -- a company logo, say -- then it could work, and there’s no harm in having the option available.

It’s a similar story with the Titles Designer. You start with around 100 templates, but these can then be customized down to the finest detail: font, style, color, fill, shadows, borders, transparency, position, rotation, 3D settings and more, with complete keyframe control if you need it (you can even apply PowerDirector’s video effects to the results).

Again, we really doubt that many users need 360 degree control over the shadow direction of their titles. But it’s good to know that the titles can be tweaked as required, and on balance the Designers are a welcome new feature.

Enhanced Video Stabilizer

Shaky video is an issue with most home movies of any length, but PowerDirector includes an "enhanced stabilizer" which tries to minimize the problem.

Trying this out doesn’t involve any extra work. As usual, you select the clip, head off to the Fix/ Enhance panel and choose "Stabilize". As well as the "fix rotational camera shake", there’s now a "use enhanced stabilizer" option, and you can check one or both to find out which works best for you.

Unsurprisingly, the stabilizer can be very CPU-intensive. CyberLink recommends you don’t try to use it with real-time previews, and sure enough, ignoring that advice reduced our test i7-4470K PC (64-bit Windows, 16GB RAM) to a crawl.

Still, the technology does deliver, even if you do have to wait. CyberLink’s official tutorial shows an example, and although that looks a little better than our own tests, we still found the stabilizer delivered good results overall.

Cloud integration, H.265

Elsewhere, PowerDirector 13 now provides integration with CyberLink Cloud. This gives you 10GB of online storage space which you can then use to store project and media files, making them easier to access wherever you are. Sounds good, although if you use this regularly than 10GB might be a little small.

A capable Android/ Windows 8 PowerDirector Mobile app delivers capable editing on the move, with good drag and drop support and 40+ effects and transitions. Projects can be continued on the desktop, or uploaded directly to YouTube or Facebook. It all worked well for us and the app is scoring 4.0 on Google Play as we write, but it seems there are problems on some devices: if you really need this, be sure to try before you buy.

An enhanced Menu Designer offers some useful extra functions. You can now ditch the root menu as required; menus are available in various formats (text only, text plus one thumbnail, multiple thumbnails); and very conveniently, buttons now automatically realign and resize themselves as they’re added to a menu, keeping design hassles to a minimum.

Maybe most generally useful of all -- eventually, anyway -- there’s now full support for importing and exporting H.265, as well as Sony’s XAVC S video.

H.265 encoding can take a while, anything up to 75 percent longer than H.264 in our tests (although results were inconsistent and the gap was sometimes much closer).

The technology can buy you a dramatic drop in file size, though. CyberLink claims "up to 32 percent" savings, and that’s not unrealistic: we regularly achieved more.

Thoughts

PowerDirector has always tried to offer something to the novice, as well as the expert user, but this no longer works quite as well as it did. Does anyone really need a slideshow creator which doesn’t allow you to set the duration of a slide, for instance, or annotate it in any way?

slideshow

You can dismiss the slideshow builder with a click, of course, but we’re just wondering why it’s there at all. Especially as there are far more capable tools available for free. Improve it, or let it go and concentrate on the features people really care about.

We have some issues with resource use, too. PowerDirector’s shadow file creation process is supposed to improve preview performance, but why did we find it still tying up a CPU core and creating disk activity for minutes after the project had been closed? You can turn this off (Edit > Preferences > General > Enable HD Video Processing), but that has a performance impact elsewhere, and we’d rather it just worked correctly.

Still, the program still scores very well on encoding performance, which is probably the benchmark that matters most. A ten minute H.264 1920x1080i 25fps project took around 14 minutes to render, for example: Adobe Premiere Elements 12 needed more than 20.

The price isn’t bad, either, and you can cut it down even further by opting for PowerDirector 13 Ultra ($99.99): you’ll miss out on Ultimate’s new effect and template packs -- NewBlue Video Essential 5, NewBlue Video Essential 7, NewBlue Titler Pro v1 and CyberLink Wedding Pack, a value of $650 according to CyberLink -- but otherwise you’re getting every editing feature and function we’ve described.

On balance, then, CyberLink PowerDirector 13 remains an excellent all-round video editor. Yes, there are issues in some areas, but they’re relatively minor, and we suspect are mostly because the program is trying to do so much.

Verdict:

PowerDirector 13 is a little short on major new features. There are pluses: the audio sync works well, the enhanced video stabilizer might be useful (if you've the CPU power) and it's good to see H.265 support. Overall, the program also remains the best consumer video editor around -- but we'll be expecting more next time.

We Like:

Packed with features; easy to use; good rendering performance; full H.265 support; 100 clip multicam syncing; improved titles/ transition customizations; easier menu authoring

We Don't Like:

Maybe not enough here to justify the upgrade for some users; more novice-oriented features -- like the Slideshow Creator -- seem underpowered, even for beginners

Overview

Manufacturer:	CyberLink
Price (RRP):	$129.99
Best Price:	$119.99
Platforms:	Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 (all 32 and 64-bit editions)
Requirements:	2GB RAM (3GB recommended for 32-bit, 6GB for 64-bit), 8.5GB hard drive space (10GB/ 20GB recommended for DVD production, 60GB/ 100GB recommended for Blu-ray production)

Microsoft lights up Seattle music festival with experimental dance Cube

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 8:52am CEST par Barclay Ballard

Microsoft has created a four-foot high interactive art installation for Seattle's Decibel music and arts festival.

The Microsoft Cube is essentially a projection system that uses five PCs, five projectors and four Kinect sensors to create a dance party that invites onlookers to become part of the art display.

The installation will be visible for the duration of the festival, which runs until 28 September, located in the Seattle Center between the Trimpin sculpture and Sky Church.

Participants are invited to stand in front of the structure and the Cube will react, tracing the movements of those around it. The Kinect sensors can register up to three people on each side, and the Cube also acts as a portal, allowing users to be connected to those on the other side.

Michael Megalli, senior director of brand strategy at Microsoft, described the Cube as residing in the "intersection of art and technology" and claimed it reflected a more creative culture at the firm.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has encouraged employees to be more experimental with their projects, taking them outside their usual remit. The Cube itself was developed over many months as various internal teams brought their own expertise and passion to the project.

The company also collaborated with WorldStage, an event technology firm, in order to finalize the structure's screens, which are made from projection material and clear acrylic.

Microsoft has yet to confirm what, if anything, the Cube will be used for in the future, but it seems that the company has plenty of ideas it is considering.

"It could be a stage for performance, a blackboard for education, a display case for museum artefacts," explains Megalli. "It could be a communications device to bring people together in unexpected ways".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
If iPhone 6 or 6 Plus bends, it's YOUR fault

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 3:03am CEST par Joe Wilcox

Aluminum is a soft metal. Anyone who has used tinfoil to wrap up food should know this. As such, there are ways you really shouldn't handle a personal device made of the metal. Front or back pocket is a no-no without a case, at least. Better: Not at all -- or use a plastic phone made by Motorola, Nokia, or Samsung.

That's my short response to colleague Mihaita Bamburic's analysis: "If your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus bends, it's Apple's fault" He is "inclined to believe that Apple did not thoroughly test its new devices, based on my engineering background". You read that right. Mihaita may be a prolific writer, but his real profession is engineering. I trust his judgment but nevertheless disagree. If iPhone 6 or 6 Plus bends, it's your fault.

You Must Be Smart

Whatya expect? Pretty things tend to be delicate, and what does Apple make? Pretty things! Common sense says don't carry a thin, metal phone in your snug jeans pocket. You have to be smart. If you put a big phone in your front pocket and, say, drive for hours and hours your muscles exert tremendous force as they move around. Bending isn't surprising for any big, aluminum phone.

I wear cargo shorts and keep iPhone 6 in the front right lower pocket, which is roomy and doesn't cling to my skin. No bends here.

Ha! This whole thing really adds to someone saying, "I went on quite the bender last night". Drunk as a skunk and iPhone 6 Plus unfathomably form-fits the face. "How did I miss that feature, Ingrid?" Burp.

There's Nothing New Here

The bends -- choke, choke "bent-gate" or "bend-gate" -- is nothing new. iPhone 5s also can bend, which raises doubts about the prevailing "they're bigger" theory. Other phone benders include EVO LTE, HTC One M8, and Sony Xperia Z1.

Yesterday, as bend-gate rumors rose, Unbox Therapy's Lewis Hilsenteger demonstrated bending iPhone 6 Plus. Yikes! I cringed to see someone so abuse a smartphone. Today, he's back conducting bend tests on HTC One M8, iPhone 6, Moto X, and Nokia 1020.

"I don't see this bending issue affecting iPhone 6 users in the same way as it has affected iPhone 6 plus users", he says. "Regular iPhone 6 users, don't panic. This thing is not going to bend easily".

Maybe, maybe not. While iPhone 6 Plus is bendier, I see forum and blog posts complaining about the smaller device, too. Among them: Russell Holly, who writes about discovering his iPhone 6 is bent. "Much like these other reports, my phone had been in my front pocket for an extended period of time while I was driving", he explains. "A phone should be capable of surviving a lot more than the pressure of fabric against your skin". Muscle tension is more likely the culprit, as I asserted a few paragraphs ago.

It's a Media Feeding Frenzy

Bend-gate is no big deal, but bloggers and journalists will make you think so.

Writing for TechCrunch, Jodran Crook correctly observes:

Every year, Apple announces a new iPhone. And every year, we go through a very similar cycle. First it's rumors and leaks, and then spy shots from factory lines, and then the announcement comes! And then it's reviews, and long lines, and pre-order figures, and first weekend sales figures -- which brings us to today. Welcome to the '-gate" portion of our event.

The Google free economy drives ad revenue based on pageviews, which, by the way, is a terribly outdated metric. Audience reach matters more but is largely ignored. But that's another topic.

Apple is hot, and the Fourth and Fifth Estates can't get enough, exactly following the timeline Crook identifies. Along the path, the company benefits from rumors and everything else -- that is right up until the latest iPhone flaw arrives. Then news and new media organizations scramble in feeding frenzy reverberating an echo chamber of misinformation.

Death Grip Wasn't

I'm particularly sensitive and cautious because of iPhone 4 antenna-gate -- or Death Grip, which is my preference. I wrote one of the first news stories observing that signal strength diminished when cupping the device in my palm. Antenna-gate turned into a huge problem for Apple, fueled in part by then-CEO Steve Jobs statement: "Just avoid holding it in that way". Shorthand "You're holding it wrong" is part of the cultural lexicon and marks yet another Apple contribution to pop culture.

But in practical everyday use, Death Grip was an illusion. As I explained a few months later: "Based on Betanews reader responses, my own iPhone 4 experience, the experience of other iPhone 4 owners I know and Apple's statement about a glitch affecting the signal-strength indicator, I concluded that there was no practical everyday calling problems caused by Death Grip". I regretted the original story.

Now we come to bend-gate and a new media feeding frenzy magnifying something affecting a small number of people into something much bigger. I've seen this kind of thing so many times before. For example: Complaints the original iPod nano scratched too easily (strange, not mine); new Macs with WiFi problems (this one is perennial); or widescreen screen yellowing, among other complaints.

Vultures will Circle

Problems are inevitable, as there will be with anything manufactured. But Apple's prominence and the news media's profiteering forbidden fruit make every little flaw a nuclear disaster. Or at least you would think so given the extent of news coverage.

If you seek perfection in design, put that pretty little thing in a glass display case and buy a flip phone. Or develop reasonable habits and expectations using a large, thin slab of aluminum device. It's not Apple's responsibility that you take proper care of iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.

But somewhere, some lawyer prepares a class-action lawsuit asserting that Apple is responsible -- that bending is a design flaw not a fact of aluminum's nature. Woe be to us all if the U.S. Federal Trade Commission gets involved and forces Apple to slap on warning labels -- like those on cigarette packages. "Warning: Walking or driving for long periods may be dangerous to your device".

Photo Credit: M. Dykstra/Shutterstock
802.11ac Wi-Fi adoption is growing -- D-Link, NETGEAR, and Cisco lead the way

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 2:25am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Whenever something in tech is new, I generally get pretty excited about it. In other words, I tend to be an early adopter. Unfortunately, upgrading to the latest and greatest is not necessarily worth the cost; sometimes throwing money at things isn't the best option. I remember upgrading my optical burners at every single small increase in speed. Ultimately, I probably wasted thousands of dollars to save myself seconds in CD and DVD burning. So why did I do it? Other than stupidity, we nerds like to brag about our computers. Hell, even on IRC (Internet Relay Chat), where no one can even validate your claims, it is fun to boast about new PC components.

Wi-Fi can be a rather tricky subject when it comes to upgrades; sometimes it is worth upgrading to a new standard and sometimes not. You see, it really depends on what you are doing. If you are simply using Wi-Fi to connect to the internet, a faster router and card won't make a difference if it is exceeding the speed that your ISP supplies. It does make sense however, if you are sharing files with a home network or streaming from a desktop to a media box. Currently, the best home wireless gear you can get is 802.11ac, and that standard starting to grow in adoption. According to ABI Research, by the end of 2014, the amount of worldwide access points is predicted to reach over 176 million, and 18 percent will be 802.11ac.

"The worldwide Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (CPE) market is expected to grow 11 percent in 2014. According to ABI Research’s Market Data, Wi-Fi Customer Premise Equipment, total shipments of Wi-Fi access points, routers, and residential gateways are set to surpass 176 million units by the end of 2014. Since its WLAN market inception in 2013, shipments of the 802.11ac standard have accelerated", says ABI Research.

The company further explains, "shipments of Wi-Fi devices with older generation standards such as 802.11a/b/g have dropped significantly over the past few years as they were replaced by 802.11n products. Rapidly growing Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices and multimedia applications continue to drive demand for higher performance Wi-Fi equipment. ABI Research expects that accelerating 802.11ac deployments will cause a downward trend in older 802.11n standard devices starting from the end of 2014".

While there are many companies producing 802.11ac equipment, D-Link and NETGEAR are leading the pack for the home market, while Cisco and Aruba Networks lead the enterprise. As prices come down, it only makes sense to buy an 802.11ac router when you need one; however, before you upgrade, make sure that you will actually be taking advantage of the better speeds. Quite frankly, having a stable router is arguably more important than owning one which is super-fast. If your current hardware is trouble-free, consider saving your money, as new routers can sometimes be a headache.

Have you transitioned to 802.11ac yet? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: sellingpix / Shutterstock
Immersion software adds rumbles and shakes to phone videos

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 1:40am CEST par Barclay Ballard

Immersion, a company that specializes in adding an extra dimension to touch screen displays, has created new software to add a layer of feeling to smartphone videos.

With mobile devices becoming the primary video platform for many users, the company hopes to solve the problem of providing excitement on a small screen.

The California-based firm has developed TouchSense Engage to add rumbles, shakes and taps to TV shows and video adverts playing on smartphones and tablets. The technology could make sports highlights or action movie explosions more realistic.

The software is currently being employed in ads for the Homeland series on Showtime and Slate magazine's mobile apps. In both instances, the Immersion effects are only available to users with Android smartphones.

Jason Patton, Immersion's content and media vice president, said that the enhancement to mobile video was the natural next step for the industry.

"I've been on the cutting edge of video on demand, high definition, bringing video to the Internet, and I view this as the next progression, which is bringing haptics -- the sense of touch -- to the video entertainment experience".

TouchSense Engage works by using a phone's internal motor to create different kinds of taps, often referred to as haptics, as the user touches the screen. The software is already employed by firms like LG, Samsung and Sony to give users the sense of playing a real keyboard or strumming a guitar.

Haptics are expected to make more of an impact in the mobile industry this year with the Apple Watch already confirmed to use the effect to send notifications. They also have the added benefit of being less of a disturbance to others when compared with audio effects.

Patton also confirmed that his company wants greater involvement with movie studios and advertisers to ensure that the added effects are not an afterthought.

"Our entry into the space has been advertising," he said. "But our long-term play is not only advertising. We're looking at short-form video, long-form video, user-generated, sports content. There's a whole host of applications".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Roku adds Cineplex for Canadian customers

Publié: septembre 25, 2014, 1:09am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Roku, the tiny set-top box, has been on a roll with new content lately. This time the company heads north for its latest score of new content, bringing Cineplex to its devices. The service will lend much new content to viewers in Canada.

If you aren't familiar, Cineplex is like many other streaming services. It allows customers to stream movies whenever they wish, much like Netflix or Amazon Prime.

"The channel delivers thousands of movies including the latest new releases such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Fault In Our Stars, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Godzilla, Blendedand much more. You also have the flexibility to start and stop movie playback when you switch between devices", the company states.

The service provides easy ways browse by what your mood is, just choose the genre you wish to partake in. Roku claims this makes it easier to find the content the customer wants.

One addition is "Scene Points", which can be saved up and used later for additional benefits. These include discounts at Cineplex theaters.

Finally, the company is offering a 25 percent discount on titles to celebrate this new addition. You'll have to act quickly on that one, as it's only good through September 25. In other words, get the popcorn ready now.